INDIANAPOLIS -- John Beilein and John Calipari have each spent 22 seasons as Division I head coaches.

Their meandering roads -- Beilein from Canisius to Richmond to West Virginia to Michigan; Calipari from Massachusetts to the New Jersey Nets to Memphis to Kentucky -- have led them both here, the Elite Eight at Lucas Oil Stadium.

For all their years and all their games, the two have never crossed paths on the court.

They'll finally do so on Sunday (5:05 p.m., TV: CBS). On Saturday, the two preached a mutual admiration.

"I love that he creates a culture wherever he goes, which is what he wants the culture to be," Calipari said of Beilein on Saturday. "I love the fact that he's just a good guy. He's a good man. And you want to be in that company."

"Watching his teams over the years, just watching what the UMass team was able to do and now that Kentucky team, for him to have the success coaching young guys means he must have some really, really good practices to be able to get young people to play at such a high level," Beilein said of Calipari. "He's got great patience if you have young people playing at a high level."

Both are looking to lead their programs back to the Final Four.

Beilein is appearing in his ninth NCAA tournament and holds a 16-8 record, including a 10-4 mark at Michigan that includes a trip to last season's national championship game.

Calipari owns a 41-13 record in 15 NCAA tournament appearance. He's one of only two coaches ever to lead three different programs to the Final Four and claimed the 2012 national title for Kentucky.

Each spoke to the media Saturday, an off day sandwiched between Friday's Sweet 16 wins and Sunday's Elite Eight. Beilein said he doesn't know Calipari well, but that the two are "very friendly to each other."

Calipari took it a step further, saying, "I really respect him as a coach" and repeatedly calling him "a good man."

In describing Beilein's coaching style, Calipari noted, "He's played a different style. He took the Princeton (offense) and took it and did what he wanted to do with it."

No. 2 seed Michigan (28-8) and No. 8 seed Kentucky (27-10) are meeting for only the second time since 1970 on Sunday.

Brendan F. Quinn covers University of Michigan basketball. Follow him on Twitter for the latest on Wolverines hoops. He can be contacted at bquinn@mlive.com